Strauss, yes, of course he’d calm the nerves. I suppose one should listen to Wagner when reading Hegel, though. And Strauss to forget him.

But seeing as my moniker is a reference to the (Nat) King Cole Trio, I think I’ll listen to Sweet Lorraine, Orange Colored Sky, Embraceable You, Ooh Kickeroonie and Frim Fram Sauce.

The only song Nat did that would fit Hegel is Lush Life.

After being depressed by that sad song, I’ll listen to Nat’s smooth baritone. I’d probably make the playlist Stardust, A Blossom Fell, Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer, Open up the Dog House (with Dean Martin) and The Ballad of Cat Ballou. If that doesn’t cheer me up, nothing will.

I won’t piss on my copy of Phenomenology. It’s sort of a badge of honor. I even wrote a thesis on Hegel and Christianity (a subject about which has been studied pretty thororughly).

But re-read? No thanks. After the martini does its magic, there’s always my back yard at night (you know how we conservative males like to mark our territory). I won’t piss on Hegel. I’ll reserve Mao’s little red book and Mein Kampf for that exercise. But Hegel’s too important. A maniac, but important. One must read German materialists before one rejects them, you know.

I’ll stick with Santayana and William James. They’re just my bag, baby.

And yes, drinks are a good idea.

Couldn’t agree more. But then, if you follow the historical thread from Hegel to Marx, then you eventually get to Lenin, who would have gotten you to read Phenomenology of Spirit at gunpoint.

Kind of funny how your little figure of speach is so accurate. Deadly accurate.

Now that I’m thoroughly disgusted, having thought about Hegel again, and now Lenin, I think I’ll have that martini, and throw in a Xanax. Just thinking about these monsters makes me want to climb the walls.

It will be very interesting to see Wolfowitz apply himself in his new position. I appreciate your insight regarding his background (thanks to Thibaud, too), I had forgotten about his extensive experience in the far east.

KCTrio – I don’t think I could read Phenomenology, even at gunpoint. Hegel to Heidigger to Hitler on one hand and Hegel to Marx on the other. He should be buried on top of Rousseau and under a public urinal.

Are the capital letters OK?

Thank you for setting it straight (perhaps not here, but not often enough said) of the connection between Hegel and Marx.

If anyone has ever had to slog their way through Phenomenology of Spirit, they deserve a Master’s degree.

I had the privalege of having taken an independent study class with one of the world’s greatest minds, Alistair MacIntyre, the purpose of which was to read that digusting book.

Hegel may be considered the grandfather of German materialism, and perhaps one of the top five philosphers of all time, but the man is a monster.

Marx is not only a shadow of Hegel, the man should have been sued for plagiarism. If you simply add economic dialectic history to Hegelian dialectic of history, and weaken the logical armor of Hegel, you have Marx. The differnce being that Hegel was an intellectual giant, and Marx was a mere sappling by comparison.

For those that have had the great fortune of not having to read Hegel, let’s just put it this way: One numbered section (about a half page or full page) takes about 30 minutes to digest. No beauty, not subtly of words, no grace of style; just rigorous logic. And that’s if you’ve got the ability to follow his logic with good retention. I’m no genius, but I’m not too bad with the topic (I majored in abstract mathematics and philosphy in college), and the rigor of Hegel is pretty horrific. Just thinking about it makes me want to have a martini.

MacIntyre’s life is a beautiful example of the evolving mind. First off, just go to Amazon.com and look up his name. There you will find his legacy (and that’s just what’s in print). His triumph, After Virtue, is still being studied and probed for understanding by modern philosphers and political scientists.

MacIntyre started his intellectual life as a comitted Marxist (having been born a Catholic). He became a devout atheist, and was pretty much in line with his colleagues. Then, he dumped aside the trappings of that murderous, inhumane philoshpy and started grappling with God again. He came full circle, and became a lover of Democracy, the spirit of the individual, and a full-blown Catholic. Now he’s at Notre Dame, where his heart belongs. It’s been said (Reagan used to use this line) that followers of Marx are those that have been taught his ideas; rejectors of Marx are those that understand his ideas).

We need more men and women like MacIntyre. He’s a great man, thinker and teacher. I can personally vouch for the latter observation, because I spent many hours with him, one on one.

One more thing; if you go to the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, about every third entry is written by A. MacIntyre. Pretty astounding.